4 teens held, 1 sought in S.F. boy's killing

S.F. CRIME

Published 4:00 am, Monday, April 11, 2011

(04-11) 19:15 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Four teenage boys were arrested and a fifth was being sought Monday in the death of a 16-year-old boy in San Francisco and an alleged arson plot, police said.

Neighbors in the working-class neighborhood in the southern part of the city where Andy Zeng, 16, was killed early Sunday said the first floor of the two-story duplex where he died had been soaked in gasoline.

Zeng, a sophomore at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School, was found dead in the white bungalow on the 2100 block of Quesada Avenue by the house's owner at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, police and neighbors said. The cause of death was not released.

Officers arrested four teenage boys in connection with the case, and a fifth boy is being sought. One of the suspects, a 15-year-old, is held on suspicion of murder, attempted arson and conspiracy, said police Lt. Troy Dangerfield.

The three other suspects, ages 15, 16 and 17, were each arrested on suspicion of attempted arson and conspiracy. Their names were not released because they are minors.

Dangerfield said he did not know whether the suspects had intended to destroy evidence of the slaying by torching the home. Residents were unnerved by the possibility.

"This is a tight neighborhood," said 34-year-old Jimmy Mullins, who grew up on the block where the slaying happened. "Anything can go down anywhere, but this is a residential area. You don't mess with fire.

"We're all kind of shook up and mad."

Another neighbor, who said he was afraid to have his name printed, said, "The owner of the house lives on the second floor and told me he came downstairs and found the boy dead. Then he noticed the whole carpet, and more, soaked in gas.

"Our whole block could have gone up if someone lit it. Who would want to do that?"

A woman who lives at the house declined to answer questions Monday, saying, "I'm too stressed out by all this."

Another neighbor who said he was afraid to be named said the family on the first floor of the duplex has two teenage boys and has lived there for about six months.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.